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The Topeka Zoo’s younger black bears will move to another zoo early Tuesday.

JD and Katie, the youngest of the four American Black Bears, will be headed to “another zoo in the Northwest,” according to a news release from the city.

Currently, the bear exhibit at the Topeka Zoo is split into two sections by a fence. Zoo officials explained that during the past year, JD, a 6-year-old bear and the only male in the Topeka Zoo’s bear population, matured and began to show aggression toward Sneak and Peek. Sneak and Peek are 19-year-old sisters. JD and his sister, Katie, were separated from Sneak and Peek about a year ago, and the two bear groups switch off exhibit time.

“We have tried many different things to balance things among the bears,” animal care supervisor Shanna Simpson said. “We just didn’t feel that it was fair to either group of bears to only get the exhibit half of the time. We made the decision to split the exhibit into two halves and began looking for a new home for JD.”

A zoo in the northwest called “a few weeks ago,” according to the news release, and were looking for a pair of bears for a new exhibit.

“It was the perfect situation,” said director Brendan Wiley. “JD and Katie get to stay together and get a beautiful new exhibit of their own.”

Wiley said that because the Topeka exhibit was designed for two bears, the zoo will reach out to wildlife rehabilitation centers soon, seeking two young bears that need a home and can’t be returned to the wild.

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